Argumentative Essay On Gun Control
Celia Ruefle
English 11
12/4/15
Gun Control Gun control is laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms. Gun control has been an important issue and topic of debate for a long time in the United States. Some people believe that gun control would not prevent gun deaths, whereas others think that having more gun restrictions could save many lives. I believe tighter regulations are needed to reduce gun-related violence. One of the biggest arguments of gun control is how it affects homicide rates. In the United States of America, 30,000 people are killed in gun related deaths each year, according to a study on about.com (Bitto). If the United States had more gun restrictions, …show more content…
Yet gun laws in other countries do help prevent gun related deaths. A good example of this is illustrated by Australia’s gun laws. In Australia, the National Firearms Agreement, an act that restricts gun ownership, was enacted in 1934 and it decreased their gun homicide rate by 59% and gun suicide rate by 74% over the next 20 years after the agreement had been made (“Australia”). This act also lowered the amount of guns in circulation. Adren Veigh of Australian National University published research on the National Firearms Agreement and found that the restrictions on guns lowered the proportion of homes with guns from 15% to 8%, almost half (“Australia”). Australia is not the only country to have success with gun restrictions. For example, in China on December 14th, a knife attack happened at an elementary school on the same day of the Newtown Shooting. Although 23 people were injured in the knife attack, none were killed, compared to 26 being killed in the Newtown shooting. This difference in fatalities was because of the type of weapon used (Farley). In other words, if the attacker would have had a gun, there would have been more fatalities in the attack in …show more content…
People who are against control will argue that we don’t need any more gun control beyond background checks, but a lot of states don’t even require background checks. Besides states that have extended their laws beyond the federal one, about 40% of gun sales require no background check (“Shootings”). Also, according to a data chart by the National Journal Graphic, states that didn’t require a permit to purchase a gun had the highest gun death rates. The gun death rates included data on homicides, suicides, and accidental gun deaths (Carroll). In addition, states that don’t have universal background checks on handgun sales had the highest gun death rates (Carroll). To illustrate the flawed background check system, Dylann Roof was still able to buy a handgun legally despite admitting to drug possession, allowing him to shoot and kill nine people. Admitting to drug possession should have stopped the sale, but due to poor background checks, it didn’t (“Shootings”). There needs to be tighter gun restrictions since the United States background check system is so
English 11
12/4/15
Gun Control Gun control is laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms. Gun control has been an important issue and topic of debate for a long time in the United States. Some people believe that gun control would not prevent gun deaths, whereas others think that having more gun restrictions could save many lives. I believe tighter regulations are needed to reduce gun-related violence. One of the biggest arguments of gun control is how it affects homicide rates. In the United States of America, 30,000 people are killed in gun related deaths each year, according to a study on about.com (Bitto). If the United States had more gun restrictions, …show more content…
Yet gun laws in other countries do help prevent gun related deaths. A good example of this is illustrated by Australia’s gun laws. In Australia, the National Firearms Agreement, an act that restricts gun ownership, was enacted in 1934 and it decreased their gun homicide rate by 59% and gun suicide rate by 74% over the next 20 years after the agreement had been made (“Australia”). This act also lowered the amount of guns in circulation. Adren Veigh of Australian National University published research on the National Firearms Agreement and found that the restrictions on guns lowered the proportion of homes with guns from 15% to 8%, almost half (“Australia”). Australia is not the only country to have success with gun restrictions. For example, in China on December 14th, a knife attack happened at an elementary school on the same day of the Newtown Shooting. Although 23 people were injured in the knife attack, none were killed, compared to 26 being killed in the Newtown shooting. This difference in fatalities was because of the type of weapon used (Farley). In other words, if the attacker would have had a gun, there would have been more fatalities in the attack in …show more content…
People who are against control will argue that we don’t need any more gun control beyond background checks, but a lot of states don’t even require background checks. Besides states that have extended their laws beyond the federal one, about 40% of gun sales require no background check (“Shootings”). Also, according to a data chart by the National Journal Graphic, states that didn’t require a permit to purchase a gun had the highest gun death rates. The gun death rates included data on homicides, suicides, and accidental gun deaths (Carroll). In addition, states that don’t have universal background checks on handgun sales had the highest gun death rates (Carroll). To illustrate the flawed background check system, Dylann Roof was still able to buy a handgun legally despite admitting to drug possession, allowing him to shoot and kill nine people. Admitting to drug possession should have stopped the sale, but due to poor background checks, it didn’t (“Shootings”). There needs to be tighter gun restrictions since the United States background check system is so